Quick, easy, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 500g chicken breasts
- Two organic lemons
- 200g green olives, pitted
- 3 cloves garlic
- 40g butter
- Canola oil
- 150 ml water
- Salt, pepper
- Ground paprika
- Ground chilli
- Ground nutmeg
- 8 sage leaves
- 3 branches of thyme
- 6 bay laurel leaves
- Fish sauce
- Chopped parsley
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil and butter on medium heat. Slice the garlic into very thin slices and put them into the skillet. Once the butter is thoroughly melted and the garlic has started to give its wonderful smell, switch to high heat and add the chicken breasts to sear.
2. Add the paprika, chilli, and nutmeg. Be generous. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Once the chicken is seared, add the sage, bay leaves, and thyme (I like to use them fresh from the garden, but dried is fine; you might want to adjust the quantities upwards).
4. Wash and cut the lemons in eight lengthwise. Add the olives and lemons to the chicken, as well as 150 ml of water and let it all simmer for about ten minutes.
5. Add a dash of fish sauce, and give the mixture a good shake.
6. Serve with polenta and sprinkle parsley on top.
Bon appétit!
Wine pairing
Because this dish is very lemony with a comforting hearty aftertaste, your safest bet is a light-bodied red wine like Gamay, a Pinot Noir or a Primitivo served at cool room temperature or a fresh medium-bodied rosé like a Côte du Rhône Villages or a Rioja rosé.
I have loved lemon 1 olives chicken for as long as I can remember, as it was one of my mum’s classic meals. I don’t know where she had found the recipe, and I’ve changed it a bit throughout the years. It looks a bit like something out of a tajine, which is lovely. A solid spring dish.